Red Wings shut out for second consecutive game, lose 3-0 to Flames

AP PhotoDetroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood looks up as a Calgary Flames shot pops out from the net for a goal in the third period.DETROIT -- On Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, the Detroit Red Wings still couldn't buy a goal.

The Red Wings were shut out for the second consecutive game, losing 3-0 to the Calgary Flames at Joe Louis Arena as goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 40 saves.

The Red Wings have failed to score in 153 minutes, 22 seconds. They have lost three consecutive games and have scored only five goals in their past six games, going 1-4-1.

It is the first time Detroit has been blanked in consecutive games
since Dec. 15 and 17, 2001, at Vancouver (3-0) and at home against
Chicago (2-0). It is the first time the Red Wings have been shut out in
consecutive home games since March 23 and 27, 1977, against Boston and
Montreal (both 6-0).

Their drought isn't from a lack of shots -- they have outshot opponents 217-137 in the past six games. Players and coach Mike Babcock say they are getting quality chances and are working hard.

"I thought we played real hard and did tons of great things, carried the game basically from start to finish,'' Babcock said.

"Sometimes, things don't go your way for a while. Are you going to hang your head and feel bad, or are you just going to keep staying determined? I was very proud of our team. We had a lot of good players. We got to stay the course, and we'll break through and we'll be a better team for it.''

Babcock, however, was not pleased with goaltender Chris Osgood, who faced only 17 shots. He was helpless to stop the first goal -- Jamie Lundmark scored 28 seconds into the game on a pass across the crease from Olli Jokinen. But Osgood was not sharp on the other two goals -- Nigel Dawes scored on a backhand from in front of the net at 18:29 of the first period, and Jokinen whipped in a hard wrist shot, high glove side, 25 seconds into the third period.

He later said, "It's hard to be a goalie when your team isn't scoring goals. On the other side, our goalie's got to be better, too.''

Osgood is 0-3-1 since a 2-1 shootout victory against San Jose on Nov. 5.

Babcock and the players also were upset that two apparent goals by Dan Cleary were waved off by referee Brad Meier.

Meier ruled Cleary prevented Kiprusoff from making the save because his rear end was hanging over the crease at 14:33 of the first period when Cleary tipped in a shot by Brad Stuart on the power play.

"I really thought the first one should have been a goal,'' Cleary said. "I didn't think I did anything wrong. Kiprusoff doesn't come out a lot, he stays back in his net, so it's not like I was interfering with him.''

Said Babcock: "Cleary was in the crease, there's no contact made, the referee said (Kiprusoff) couldn't make the save. That's not how I saw it, but I have the replay. The second one, it's a goal for sure.''

On the second one, Cleary fired the puck in the net with 11.2 seconds remaining in the second period, but Meier had blown his whistle after losing sight of the puck.

The Red Wings went 0-for-6 on the power play and are 3-for-26 on the man-advantage in the past six games.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom was asked if his team is getting enough quality shots and chances.

"Some of them are real good scoring chances, good shots, good tips and good screens,'' Lidstrom said. "Some of them we're throwing the puck in from the side of the net, trying to create some second chances and rebounds. We can't get discouraged from shooting the puck.''

Asked what more his club could do, Henrik Zetterberg said: "When it's not going as you want offensively, you just have to stick to the things you do right -- shooting the puck, crashing the net, be there for rebounds. You just have to keep going and be more efficient when you get the chances.''